Vacuum-tube.



w. A. WINTER & c. M. PEABODY,

VACUUM TUBE w m. L ,mw M y. m 1 3 a d u L. U. mu 2 J L m 1 a h 3&5 1 F 7 46 @A III. A. m L u 2 0 .ak 1 f Z a wm d 1 a APPLICATION FILED APR. 14, 1910. 984,726.

- arrangement of parts, as will be more fully To all. whom'it concern: l Be it known thatwe, WILLIAM A. WIN- 'State, and CHARLES M. PnABonY, citizen of the :United States, residing at South Orless discharge of static charges througha WILLIAM A. WINTER, OF NEW 'YOI B -K, N. Y; AND GHABLES M. PEAIBODY, OF'SOUTH I ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

VACUUM-TUBE.

ran, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, New York county, New York ange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vacuum-Tubes; and we do declare't-he; following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains, to makeand use the same. A V

-This invention relates to vacuum tubes and particularly to that type used in X-ray apparatus.

When operating with tubes especially those in which the vacuum is high there is a tendency to "puncture due to the potential strain to which the glass is subjected especially in the parts of the tube adjacent to the positive electrode, thereby destroying the usefulness of the tube. Y

It is the object of this invention to avoid this dificulty by providing a conducting medium at thepoints' of greatest strain, arranged in such a manner as to cause a harmsuitable resistance, or to receive and conduet'a high potential charge from the oppo site end of the tube, to such a place as it may be harmlesslydischarged.

Specifically, the invention consists in applying either to the *inner or outer surfaces of the tube, a current conducting medium, either chemical or metallic, and arranging the same in such manner that either their!- charged of its accumulated electricity.

The invention is particularly advantageous when placed near the current carry-= ing'terminals of a vacuum tube such as the anode, cathode, anti-cathode or regulating device, singly, in pairs, or all of them,and the inner and outer layers of conducting material may be either connected directly, or the current discharged from one to the other with an interposed resistance. Wi h the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction,- combination and described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 4

Specifieatioriof Letters Patent. Patented Feb 21, 1911. Appliation filed April 14, 1910. Serial No. 555,375.

In the aecompanyin drawings, Figure 1 shows the ordinary orm of X-ray tube; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of one form -of the terminal .tubes employed therein;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 shows a modified form of the tube in longitudinal section; Fig. 5 is a sectional view thereof on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and-'3, '1 represents a terminal tube of glass which is covered on its outer face with a current conducting layer 2 and on or adj a- In-this instance, the inner layer has connected to it a disehargeterminal 4= .which is fused through the glass in position to be juxtaposed with. relation to the discharge terminal 5 carried by the other layer. These discharge terminals are preferably of platinum, but may be of any other suitable material, and it will be readily understood that by disposing the terminal 5 at different points along the'tube the spark gap between the terminals may be made larger or smaller and the resistance of the-tube varied. In these figures, Grepresents the generally used support for the terminals of the vacuum tube. and 7 indicates the line terminal. It must be further understood that this spark gap or other suitable resistance does not necessarily need to be positioned outside of the tube, but may be located therein if found to be convenient, but in practice,- the outside arrangement has been found to be advantageous and the conducting material as employed is preferably plated upon the surfaces of the glass, their sizes and positions being governed entirely by the circumstances.

In Figs. 4 and 5, the glass tube 1 has only a single conducting medium Sarranged upon the outside, which is'provided in this instance with aterminal finger 9 of platinum or other suitable material, extending. upwardly fromits upper end in position to discharge the current ofthe layer 8 onto the terminal cap 10 which covers the upper end of the tube 1 and is of the type generally used in the manufacture of these vacuum. tubes, being connected. by a conductor 11 with the terminal supports '12, which: is

' ings, the construction and operation of the En SA A n rcn.

cent to its inner face with a similar layer 3.

invention-willibe readily understood with out requiring a more extended explanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principleor sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention, as defined in the ap- 'pended claims.

ducting medium, a conducting medium on Having thus particularly described our invention, what we claim is: 1

1. A vacuum tube having a conducting medium mounted on its inner andouter surfaces, anda discharge terminal passing through the tube 'and connected to one of.

said conducting mediums. v 2. A vacuum tube having an external conthe inside of the tube, a discharge terminal which may alsov begused as the electrode, a

terminal fused through the tube and-con):

-of sai nectetlito the outermedium ander ranged to -coact with the first discharge terminal to form a resisting air; gap.

'3. A vacuum tube having a conducting element mounted u'pon onesurface thereof and adapted to hold a charge of a given p0:

larity, a second conducting element upon the other surface of the tube, a terminal.

have hereunto WILLIAM A. WINTER. v k j CHARLES M..Z 1?EA I:

' Witnesses; .7

i M. B. Dow,

ACLDREES'EY,

connectedpresence of two subscrib 

